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readyAIMfire53
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Richyyy
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 Posted: 06/02/16 4:33 pm ::: |
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| ArtBest23 wrote: |
| Richyyy wrote: |
KML was always something of a gamble pick |
What? If Loyd hadn't come out early, KML was by most accounts going to be Seattle's first pick -- the #1 overall pick in the draft. A team might "gamble" on a 7 footer with that pick, but on a 5'11" player without a true position? I don't think anyone "gambles" on that with the first pick in the draft. I think they believed she was a sure thing.
Now "misjudgment" might be a fair term for it. |
But there were still a lot of questions around her, in the same way as someone like Banham this year. Can the skills translate, can the flaws be covered up or improved upon, how much were UConn good because of her or her because of UConn? Someone like Williams always looked like a 'safer' pick to me (and, I think, to many). Apart from the rumours about her interest in medical school over basketball, you knew what you were getting at a bare minimum - someone who had good size, decent mobility, and could play the 5. You were getting at least, say, Nakia Sanford for a few years. If things went well, maybe you were getting a better Kia Vaughn.
KML was much more of a boom or bust possibility. If it worked, you got a perimeter shooter who scared the crap out of people on the offensive end, and survived okay on defense. Like a shorter Nicole Powell (in her good years). If it didn't, you got Laurie Koehn.
That's what I meant by gamble. Sometimes you take the gamble at #1 over a 'safer' option. Greg Oden was a hell of a lot more of a gamble than Kevin Durant - bad choice. Dwight Howard was considered more of a gamble when he went ahead of Emeka Okafor about a decade ago - good choice. Some work, some don't. |
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soyouthink
Joined: 25 Mar 2014
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| Posted: 06/02/16 6:27 pm ::: |
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Probably similarities with KML and Jimmer.
Great shooters although they don't play enough D to stay on the floor.
Her shot will be back, she had a good year in France and her shot is pure.
It looks right now like she is not starter material, although I wouldn't rule her out of being an impact bench player who scores in bunches on a good team.
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ArtBest23
Joined: 02 Jul 2013
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| Posted: 06/02/16 6:36 pm ::: |
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| soyouthink wrote: |
Probably similarities with KML and Jimmer.
Great shooters although they don't play enough D to stay on the floor.
Her shot will be back, she had a good year in France and her shot is pure.
It looks right now like she is not starter material, although I wouldn't rule her out of being an impact bench player who scores in bunches on a good team. |
Her shot may be "pure" when she's wide open, which she's not often going to be in the WNBA. Geno created plays to get her completely open and took advantage of teams collapsing into the paint to defend his bigs. That's just not going to happen at this level.
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NYL_WNBA_FAN
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soyouthink
Joined: 25 Mar 2014
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| Posted: 06/02/16 7:07 pm ::: |
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| ArtBest23 wrote: |
| soyouthink wrote: |
Probably similarities with KML and Jimmer.
Great shooters although they don't play enough D to stay on the floor.
Her shot will be back, she had a good year in France and her shot is pure.
It looks right now like she is not starter material, although I wouldn't rule her out of being an impact bench player who scores in bunches on a good team. |
Her shot may be "pure" when she's wide open, which she's not often going to be in the WNBA. Geno created plays to get her completely open and took advantage of teams collapsing into the paint to defend his bigs. That's just not going to happen at this level. |
Fair point, although playing minutes with Stewart and Jewell should see her open a few times a game. I'm not sure how many players on any team you want shooting shots that are not wide open.
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Str8_Butta
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Jet Jaguar
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| Posted: 06/02/16 8:09 pm ::: |
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| Maybe give her more than just a year and part of the next one before you declare her a bust. That being said, if she was drafted expecting more than just a 3-point specialist, they were only kidding themselves. Because that's all she'll ever be at this level. And I don't think long range shooting ever "doesn't translate", no matter what level (unless the slightly further distance is an issue, which I don't think it is with her). A sweet jump shot is a sweet jump shot. But she's not going to be able to create her shots. If they want someone to do that, they got the wrong player. Other than that, she should be able to hit an open 3 if needed. Maybe her confidence is down now, or she's not fitting the offense they are running. IDK.
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NYL_WNBA_FAN
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NYL_WNBA_FAN
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| Posted: 06/02/16 8:32 pm ::: |
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| Oh right. This is a KML thread. I think confidence issues have to be creeping in. She misses 3's no matter if they're wide open or not. I think her elevated draft position was a by-product of being a UConn player. But I also think there could be a place for her in the league and it's still too soon to assess. She could stand to take off 10-15 pounds though. Being slower and struggling to get into your elevation makes the game seem much faster. If she can't play the game slower she is going to continue to struggle.
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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| Posted: 06/02/16 9:53 pm ::: |
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| ArtBest23 wrote: |
Why does this surprise anyone?
It was apparent in college that she (a) could not create her own shot, and (b) could not play defense. Guess what. |
This. Twice.
KML will be a minor footnote in UConn history, I do believe. Great kid 'n all, but just not pro material.
Having said that, however, I also feel the need to remind folks of kids like Allie Quigley or Erlana Larkins: some pros DO reach their *personal best* later down the road. Not all can be Grand Stars by their second year out.
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ThreeBall25
Joined: 21 Jan 2005
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| Posted: 06/03/16 12:02 am ::: |
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Two things come to mind:
1 - Is she hitting open shots in practice? Could be a confidence thing.
2 - If not, is distance the issue? She was almost automatic at UConn behind the arc.
Let's not forget there was a big difference between frosh/soph KML and junior/senior KML. All through college she always ran off a lot of screening action, but she was the leading scorer her first two years at UConn and in a variety of ways (jumpers and post ups in addition to treys). Freshman year that was off the bench. Things changed after the shoulder injury vs. Stanford her junior year, she tried to avoid contact, basically became a spot-up shooter, and her conditioning went downhill badly.
Maybe Seattle thought early UConn KML could make a comeback.
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canadaball
Joined: 24 May 2013
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| Posted: 06/03/16 12:12 am ::: |
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| Let's remember that this year, on a mediocre French team in a mediocre league, KML was decidedly mediocre. IMO she has zero chance to be an effective WNBA player. Come to think of it, I do not remember ever seeing a WNBA roster like Seattle which seems to have made a specialty of collecting lots of slow footed mediocrities (O'Hea, Bishop, Gatling, Dietrick, KML).
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ClayK
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| Posted: 06/03/16 9:58 am ::: |
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A couple thoughts:
1) I talked to someone who's close enough to the Duke program to know JPM personally, and he says they get absolutely no training or development. That's why Azure Stevens transferred ...
Why does this belong in the WNBA thread? Because any Duke player likely has more room to improve coming out of college than a player who, say, goes to UConn ...
2) Which brings us back to KML. It's one thing to be able to make open shots ... in fact, there are a lot of people who can, including people on this board, given enough time, make three-pointers at a reasonable clip. But if you're not quick enough to separate, or your release is too slow, it doesn't matter if you can make them because you'll either have to rush or not shoot at all.
It appears that KML is struggling to make the shots she made in college but that could be because the window of opportunity to get off the shot is much smaller due to the size and athleticism of the defenders, plus the extra distance.
That said ...
3) There are players who take a big step forward during their careers, and Allie Quigley is a perfect example. What she did, as many have done, is get herself in much, much better physical condition, which made her quicker, stronger and more confident, and I think, allowed her to improve.
KML certainly could do the same, but throughout her career, she has not shown the ability -- whether it's simply a physical thing or whatever -- to get in the best possible shape. If she can figure that out, her stroke could carry her, but there's no guarantee. Most players can't make that leap after college, but some do.
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kool-aide
Joined: 09 Jun 2009
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| Posted: 06/03/16 1:52 pm ::: |
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| ClayK wrote: |
A couple thoughts:
1) I talked to someone who's close enough to the Duke program to know JPM personally, and he says they get absolutely no training or development.
Because any Duke player likely has more room to improve coming out of college than a player who, say, goes to UConn ... |
Nice to see you're finally starting to believe what some of us here have said about JPM for a while now. She's not a good coach.
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readyAIMfire53
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: 06/03/16 9:03 pm ::: |
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| ClayK wrote: |
A couple thoughts:
1) I talked to someone who's close enough to the Duke program to know JPM personally, and he says they get absolutely no training or development. |
So McCalley and her entire staff do nothing during practice, or do they not hold practices?
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Shades
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| Posted: 06/03/16 9:14 pm ::: |
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| tfan wrote: |
| ClayK wrote: |
A couple thoughts:
1) I talked to someone who's close enough to the Duke program to know JPM personally, and he says they get absolutely no training or development. |
So McCalley and her entire staff do nothing during practice, or do they not hold practices? |
Stevens went from a #23 prospect out of high school to a likely lottery pick in a couple of years (even if she would have stayed at Duke). I gotta believe there was some development there.
And you know how useful nameless heresay is? Zilch
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Last edited by Shades on 06/04/16 12:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009
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| Posted: 06/03/16 9:49 pm ::: |
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| tfan wrote: |
| ClayK wrote: |
A couple thoughts:
1) I talked to someone who's close enough to the Duke program to know JPM personally, and he says they get absolutely no training or development. |
So McCalley and her entire staff do nothing during practice, or do they not hold practices? |
"Absolutely no" training might be a tiny bit hyperbolic, BUT....the general idea may very WELL be quite true; practice might just be repetitive drills on basic skills, conditioning, etc., without ever really teaching the finer points of the game, especially those points as they relate to her specific talents.
Azura strikes me as a kid that....
1. ....is blooming *late*. Maybe a bit gangly in high school, NOW she's maturing physically, hence the improvement.
2. ....yes, has improved through her own efforts, and in being surrounded by talented peers/other collegiate players.
3. ....FINALLY figured out what we could have told her: JPM is a fraud as a coach. She's now with the best, and will most likely be phenomenal in the near future.
Ya don't even have to live across the fence from Duke to see the obvious: JPM is the Donald Trump of wbb: all hype and faade, and totally unable to produce results commensurate with the talent she gets.
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tfan
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| Posted: 06/03/16 9:57 pm ::: |
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| Howee wrote: |
| tfan wrote: |
| ClayK wrote: |
A couple thoughts:
1) I talked to someone who's close enough to the Duke program to know JPM personally, and he says they get absolutely no training or development. |
So McCalley and her entire staff do nothing during practice, or do they not hold practices? |
"Absolutely no" training might be a tiny bit hyperbolic, BUT....the general idea may very WELL be quite true; practice might just be repetitive drills on basic skills, conditioning, etc., without ever really teaching the finer points of the game, especially those points as they relate to her specific talents.
Azura strikes me as a kid that....
1. ....is blooming *late*. Maybe a bit gangly in high school, NOW she's maturing physically, hence the improvement.
2. ....yes, has improved through her own efforts, and in being surrounded by talented peers/other collegiate players.
3. ....FINALLY figured out what we could have told her: JPM is a fraud as a coach. She's now with the best, and will most likely be phenomenal in the near future.
Ya don't even have to live across the fence from Duke to see the obvious: JPM is the Donald Trump of wbb: all hype and faade, and totally unable to produce results commensurate with the talent she gets. |
Calling McCauley a fraud as a coach is a statement that Donald Trump would make. She's been to the Elite 8 four times with Duke and to the finals with Michigan State.
Last edited by tfan on 06/03/16 10:04 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Shades
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| Posted: 06/03/16 9:58 pm ::: |
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| She fraudulently got into the NCAA finals? This should be good.
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Queenie
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ArtBest23
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Howee
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ThreeBall25
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| Posted: 06/04/16 12:44 am ::: |
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| tfan wrote: |
Calling McCauley a fraud as a coach is a statement that Donald Trump would make. She's been to the Elite 8 four times with Duke and to the finals with Michigan State. |
She also hasn't made it to a Final Four with clear Final Four talent at Duke. Look at how her players have developed after they leave her program: recent examples being Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas, Haley Peters, and Elizabeth Williams. You are defending a person and can't even spell her name correctly so...
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[shades]